Apryl Molina finds herself in the daily struggle to make ends meet. With a brother and sister to take care of and medical bills to pay, the 21-year old dreams of a life where she has a career and a steady income.

“My mom is ill often and money is short, so paying for a college education is never on my priority list,” said Molina. “But I’ve just received a couple of scholarships and financial aid so everything is about to change for the better.”

Recently, Molina, who will be one of the first students to pursue an associate’s degree in Cyber Security at the new Texas State Technical College in Fort Bend County campus, was presented with a $500 scholarship from the Richmond Rotary Club, a donation made to TSTC for a student with financial need.

“This scholarship came out of nowhere and I couldn’t be more grateful. I literally cried when I found out I had received it,” said Molina. “I was really stressed out about how I was going to pay for school. For a while I thought college wasn’t going to be a possibility for me.”

Richmond Rotary Club President-elect and Secretary Larry Pittman said it is helping students like Apryl that makes their donation so worthwhile. This is the first Rotary Club scholarship given to a TSTC student to help pay for tuition or books.

“Apryl is a terrific young lady who is fighting to get ahead,” said Pittman. “I hope that our scholarship can help fund a portion of her college career and help her achieve her educational and career goals.”

The Sugar Land native has big dreams to earn a college degree and work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) helping save young children from the dangers of today’s cyber world. And because of the help she is receiving from TSTC and organizations like the Richmond Rotary, those dreams seem to be coming true.

“I’ve never received financial aid or scholarships before,” said Molina. “Because of all the assistance I’m getting I have been able to drop to part-time at my full-time job and fully focus on school and moving forward with my career.”

Molina also recently received a $1,000 scholarship from TSTC. She said she is so thankful for the help she received from staff at TSTC in Fort Bend County. Prior to TSTC, Molina had attended another local college and said she never received the kind of help she has at TSTC.

“Everyone from financial aid to admissions representatives really helped me get everything in order,” said Molina. “I’m excited to get started at a college where I’m a name, not only a number. They really care about the future of their students.”

For more information on TSTC’s Cyber Security program call 832-595-8734 or visit tstc.edu. The deadline to register is August 22. Fall 2016 students will be attending the new TSTC campus in Fort Bend County which will open in time for the first day of classes on August 29.